1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cleaning/disinfecting process and composition; more particularly, it relates to the cleaning and/or disinfecting of milk- and food-handling equipment, for example general commercial dairy cleaning of pipelines, silos, filling machines and processing apparatus, and general disinfecting of food handling areas and machines, especially the "cleaning-in-place" of milking machinery.
The present system may be used for the cleaning and/or disinfecting of apparatus in farm and commercial dairies of both the process and liquid milk type. Such apparatus includes, for example, milking machines, collection tankers used to transport milk in bulk, bulk milk holding silos, milk meters, general pipework, bottle and carton filling machines, butter making machinery, yoghurt manufacturing plant and cheese making machinery. Generally, such apparatus needs to be cleaned hot (60.degree.-85.degree. C.). The present invention provides a means by which such apparatus may be cleaned and disinfected or merely disinfected after cleaning, but at ambient temperatures. The present compositions may be used as cleaning and disinfecting solutions or as acidic disinfectants alone.
For purposes of illustration only, the present invention will be generally described in relation to milk-handling equipment.
2. Prior Art
Currently, it is common practice to clean, for example, pipes and containers which have to come into contact with milk using solutions of caustic soda and/or potash with sodium hypochlorite, sequestrants and wetting agents. Generally, such solutions must be used hot (60.degree.-85.degree. C.) and are somewhat hazardous at high pH (11-14).
In this field, it is important that the results are both visually and microbiologically acceptable. There is also a public safety aspect and in the U.K. the Milk and Dairy Regulations 1959 must be satisfied. Before a new system may be adopted, it must be approved under the auspicies of MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food). A particularly demanding test for novel systems, is the so-called Lisboa tube test wherein for cold cleaning an in-use formulation and a 2/3 strength solution must each at 5.degree. C. reduce the bacteria on the inside of the milk-soiled tubes as well as or better than standard sodium hypochlorite/sodium carbonate solutions at 44.degree. C. (Reference may be made to FIL IDF 44:1967 for further information.) Until now, no commercially available cold-cleaning system has passed this 5.degree. C. test.